IMG College is building a regional management structure to oversee its growing ticketing business.

With 24 school clients now using IMG Learfield Ticketing, the joint venture between IMG and Learfield Sports, the companies think now is the time to build a regional management team that provides support to the general managers at each school.

Utah State is the most recent school to sign with IMG Learfield Ticketing, while Colorado came on board earlier this year. Both schools have multimedia rights agreements with Learfield Sports.

Mark Dyer, IMG College’s chief innovation officer and senior vice president who oversees the ticketing business, said regional managers will be established for the West, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Northeast regions. IMG College has a similar regional approach to managing its multimedia rights properties.

Three of the regional managers for ticketing already have been hired, all from within.

n Chris Bain, who formerly ran the Temple property, will head up the Mid-Atlantic region and be based in Winston-Salem, N.C., where IMG College is headquartered.

n A.J. Arem, who previously ran the Tennessee property, will stay in Knoxville and look over the Southeast region.

n Matt Smith, the UNLV manager, will remain in Las Vegas and be in charge of the West.

The regional managers will report to Brad Sexton, the national sales director for ticketing.

Participants in this year’s Division I men’s and women’s Final Fours will receive NCAA gift packages worth approximately $750, including a Jostens ring in a commemorative wooden display box and a piece of the court from the championship weekend, according to the NCAA.

A maximum of 25 members of each men’s team will receive, among other items, an Apple TV and a Final Four bench chair. Members of the Women’s Final Four teams will receive a tumbler with an ESPN logo (reflecting the network partner for the tournament), a bench towel and a Women’s Final Four game ball inside a display cube.

Watches will be given to all 3,300 participants in the two tournaments this month, but only the 200 Final Four participants will receive a watch with the Final Four logo.

The total estimated value of the NCAA’s tournament gifts this year is $320,000.

The gift-giving is part of the annual end-of-season college basketball tournament experience, just as football players receive gifts as part of their bowl-game experiences each fall. Gifts are presented for both conference tournament and NCAA tournament play.

For participating in this month’s conference tournaments, up to 25 gift packages can be provided to a team by its school and by its conference, according to NCAA bylaws. An unlimited number of additional packages can be bought and given to guests, such as sponsors and media partners. Those tournament-related gifts are on top of regular-season participation packages that are available to the players. Additional packages for championship wins are also allowed.

The gifts can add up. For example, a senior — seniors are allowed to receive more than underclassmen — on a team that runs the table and wins championships for the regular season, postseason conference tournament and NCAA tournament could secure a total gift haul valued at up to $3,780.

The monetary limits set up by the NCAA are similar across most men’s and women’s sports and sanctioned events, and the levels are the same as they were during the 2011-12 school year. There are variances based on whether the sport is individual- or team-based, among other factors.

Among conferences, the Big 12 this year is joining at least five other conferences that are offering gift suites as a reward to players and coaches who are participating in their championship tournaments. This type of offering is one where players and coaches can go online to a targeted website and select from a catalog of items instead of each participant receiving a preselected gift from the conference.

Last year, the Big 12 handed out 600 Dynex 32-inch flat-screen televisions to participants as its gifts. In 2011, it gave an iPod touch to each participant.

Bob Burda, associate commissioner of communications at the Big 12, said the reason for the switch to a gift suite was to give the participants a variety in the gifts they could receive.

CONFERENCE AND NCAA TOURNAMENT GIFTS

Following are gifts and number of gift packages provided by Division I basketball conferences and the NCAA to players competing in their men’s and women’s basketball tournaments this month.

NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship (1,700): Fossil watch (all participants), and participants from the men’s Final Four teams also will receive a Jostens ring in a commemorative Final Four wooden display box; Wilson bag and mini ball; Apple TV; Final Four floor piece; Final Four Lucite game ticket; and Final Four bench chair

NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship (1,600): Fossil watch (all participants), and participants from the women’s Final Four teams also will receive a Jostens ring in a commemorative Final Four wooden display box; Wilson bag and mini ball; Final Four floor piece; Final Four Lucite game ticket; Final Four water bottle; Final Four tumbler from ESPN; Final Four JournalBook; Final Four bench towel; and Final Four game ball inside a display cube

NA: Not available at press time
* Gifts for both the men’s and women’s tournament are paid for by the Tournament Host Committee of Greensboro (N.C.) rather than the conference.
** The conference is providing the backpacks and the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Chamber of Commerce is providing the duffel bags and pullover.
Notes: The Mid-American Conference does not provide participant gift packages. The Ivy League does not have a season-ending conference tournament. Additional packages can be bought and given to guests, such as sponsors and media partners.